The Trump administration's pro-cryptocurrency stance has added new evidence: Howard Lutnick, co-leader of the Trump transition team, who was just nominated as Secretary of Commerce last week, was recently revealed to have a close relationship with a cryptocurrency industry company suspected of money laundering, which he founded and currently serves as CEO of, Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services company.

The Wall Street Journal reported last Sunday that Cantor Fitzgerald, led by Lutnick, has a significant client, Giancarlo Devasini, the founder and largest shareholder of the stablecoin Tether, which holds most of Tether's $134 billion in assets, mainly in U.S. Treasury Bonds. As Tether's current business held with Cantor is to support the value of the stablecoin using these U.S. Treasury Bonds, this custodial relationship brings Cantor tens of millions of dollars in revenue every year.

According to informed business partners, Cantor and Tether reached an agreement last year where Cantor holds a 5% stake in Tether. At the time of the agreement, Cantor's valuation of these shares amounted to as high as $0.6 billion, which is approximately less than one-fifth of Cantor's total assets under management. Fintel data shows that Cantor's current total asset value is around $3.5 billion.

If the above information is true, it may mean that after Lutnick becomes Secretary of Commerce, Tether will receive more political support. This is because reports mentioned that both Lutnick and Devasini have a keen interest in future government policies. Devasini privately mentioned this year that Lutnick will attempt to leverage his political influence to mitigate threats faced by Tether.

Last month, media reports indicated that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Tether violated sanctions and anti-money laundering regulations. This criminal investigation, led by prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office, aims to determine if Tether was used by third parties to finance illegal activities, such as drug trafficking, terrorism, hacking, or to launder the proceeds of these activities. At the same time, the U.S. Treasury Department is also considering imposing sanctions on Tether, as the stablecoin is widely used by individuals and groups sanctioned by the U.S., including Hamas and Russian arms dealers.

Lutnick has previously expressed confidence in Tether's financial condition multiple times, emphasizing that for people in high-inflation countries like Argentina, Turkey, and Venezuela, the U.S. dollar-backed Tether can play a crucial role.

Bloomberg also reported that Cantor is discussing accepting support from Tether for implementing a multi-billion dollar project, deepening financial ties with Tether. This project aims to provide U.S. dollar loans to clients using Bitcoin as collateral.

In July of this year, Cantor announced the loan project mentioned above. Lutnick said at the time, "We will provide leverage for people holding bitcoin. We will launch a $2 billion loan." He said,

Cantor arranges and provides a large number of securities and commodities for minors. As a strong supporter of bitcoin, now it will establish a platform to support the financing needs of bitcoin investors. "We are pleased to help unleash the full potential of bitcoin and continue to bridge the gap between traditional finance and digital assets."

Sources told Bloomberg that the funding for Cantor's above project will start at $2 billion and is expected to eventually reach tens of billions of dollars.

The media reported that after Lutnick was nominated as Secretary of Commerce, he is prepared to transfer the business dealings between Cantor and Tether to his colleagues. Lutnick's son, Brandon Lutnick, currently works as a trader at Cantor, and previously interned at Tether in Lugano, Switzerland.

Before Lutnick was selected as Secretary of Commerce, a Tether spokesperson stated in a release, "Tether and Cantor have a strictly professional relationship based on reserve management. The claim that Lutnick's involvement (in the Trump) transition team to some extent implies influence on regulatory actions is too ridiculous."